Suicide prevention (idea)

Sometime in the early 90's I attended an outdoor concert hosted by several bands, the names of which I can't remember. I'm sure the music was great, but as most live shows from that period of my life, it was mostly forgettable. Except for one thing. Some band came on, maybe Rusty Fork or Kinky Elbow, headed by your typical long haired, ripped jeaned, t-shirted aspiring rock star. In a nutshell he was unremarkable. Then he said it, a phrase that has stuck with me to this day:

He was right, of course, since at that time we were slowly becoming more and more aware of this relatively new disease, slowly crippling our world and taking from us our loved ones. We were also starting to understand, and accept, that it did not attack only one particular group of people or another and that we were all potentially, directly through infection, or indirectly, through the loss of friends and family, its victims. We've all got AIDS means that we all must take part in its prevention and treatment. It is society's burden, not that of the individual.

The majority of suicides (90-95%) are precipitated by mental illness, most often some form of depression. The first step in suicide prevention is a society-wide debunking of the myths associated with these illnesses. This is best achieved, of course, through publiceducation programs now being implemented worldwide. The Defeat Depression program organized by the College of British Psychiatrists emphasized the need to de-stigmatize mental illnesses and encourage individuals to get help.

Nations such as a Sweden, Norway, Finland, New Zealand and Australia developed comprehensive national strategies for the prevention of suicide. Public and media education was a strong component in all of them as well as the need for the reduction in access to deadly weapons. The US followed suit much later. The following resolution was introduced, and unanimously passed, by Senator Harry Reid in 1997.

My plea to you, as someone who has lost a friend, and as someone who suffers from a mental illness, is this: educate yourself. Read Eco's write up above. Read whatever you can find on the subject. Keep an open mind and make yourself aware. The London Mental Health Foundation released the results of a 3000 person survey, showing that 50% of the respondents were unable to locate a help line to call in the case of a psychiatric emergency. Who would you call?

Although suicide prevention is the responsibility of society as a whole, it starts with the attitudes and perceptions of the individual. We've all got AIDS and we could all be potentially affected by suicide.